


The pact of our youth

by Wild_things_in_wicked_walls



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Cherry gets hurt, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I can't get over this scene, Joe remembers their friendship, M/M, Relationship Study, Spoilers for episode 9, fuck adam, man I suck at tagging, that's basically it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29950983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wild_things_in_wicked_walls/pseuds/Wild_things_in_wicked_walls
Summary: Falling is easy when skating.Falling is a large part of skating, whether it's controlled or not.Learning to fall was easy too, because they were together.Now it just feels like they're falling apart.
Relationships: Nanjo Kojiro | Joe/Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom
Comments: 4
Kudos: 96





	The pact of our youth

**Author's Note:**

> ASFJFGKGKKHH I CANT GET OVER THIS ANIME????? AND THIS SCENE????? BROKE MY HEART????  
> Sorry. I thought it was going to be a light-hearted anime. I really thought I'd learned my lesson with Banana Fish but hey, here we go again.  
> I hope it's not too out of character ahah, don't forget there are spoilers about the 9th episode.  
> Also, English is not my first language so there might be some mistakes.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> (Title from Achilles Come Down by Gang of Youths)

The hardest part…

The hardest part is not watching Adam dance mirthlessly just like he always does before he inevitably swoops down on his prey. Swoops down on Cherry.

_The first times are the most exciting. The first time Ainosuke manages a flawless heelflip, he is so elated he does a little dance on his skate, clicks his heels and throws his arms up like a matador. There’s a huge smile crossing his face, that matches the one on Kaoru and Kojiro’s features as they run towards him for a high-five. Kojiro thinks the dance is just like Ainosuke, a little smug, a little insolent, cheerful. But then his foot lands a little off, slips off the board, and the blue haired teen falls backward in a flail of arms and a surprised cry. Kaoru and Kojiro burst in laughter as they help him stand back up, and he joins them. That too is a lot like Ainosuke._

The hardest part is not feeling anxiety build up inside him quickly, the closer each long and powerful stride brings Adam to Cherry.

_Kojiro breaks his board at the worst of time. It’s near 1am at their favorite spot and he attempts a trick he’s been struggling to achieve for a few days. The light is dim, a weak yellow glow that bathes the spot, a few steps and a weary railing underneath a bridge, its walls covered in usually bright letters. He runs a few steps before jumping on his skate, then bends his knees a little to fly over some boxes piled up to make an obstacle. He kicks lightly his skate to make it turn beneath his feet and beams when it does so perfectly as the ground gets closer again and he hears his friends cheer. But the next second he hears a loud crack and he tumbles face first into the pavement. ‘Fuck’ he mumbles as he sits up and sees the two halves of his skate on the floor, a few feet apart. Then, ‘FUCK’ louder because there are cops running their way and he can’t skate away from them. ‘You go without me!’ he shouts to Kaoru and Ainosuke, but these idiots just run towards him, grab him under the armpits to make him stand up, then take off with their skates under their arm. They run for what seems like hours, Kaoru fast and graceful like always, Ainosuke taking long and powerful strides, and they barely manage to outrun the cops. Kojiro gets mad at his friends. Inside, he’s grateful._

The hardest part is not even watching the skate draw a graceful curve before crashing in Cherry’s face. Brutally.

_They all know someone who got their nose broken and they’ve all seen legs or wrists bend the wrong way, as their owner lets out a wounded cry. Skateboard is not a merciful sport. But teenage Kaoru doesn’t need to get on a board to get hurt. Kojiro has known him for years and he can’t count the number of glasses Kaoru has broken, doing literally anything. Once, he’s so focused on a book as he walks down a school corridor to get to his next class, he doesn’t see the open window and walks right into it. Kojiro shakes his head and helps him up. Another time, Kaoru is sitting on Kojiro’s bed, having for once agreed to play a video game with him. He does this annoying yet cute thing beginners often do, leaning right and left when he turns, lifting his elbows and gamepad as he squints his eyes to focus, dodging physically when his character needs to. He doesn’t notice he’s getting closer and closer to the edge of the bed, but Kojiro does. He opens his mouth to warn him, but Kaoru suddenly jumps as his character is hit by an attack and he slips off the bed, landing face first right on his glasses. They’re bent in half and he has a little cut on the bridge on his nose, but his pride is the most hurt as Kojiro doesn’t stop laughing for ten minutes straight._

It’s not seeing his best friend fly backwards, back arched painfully, arms rising involuntarily as if humans were meant to fly, pale pink hair like the most delicate of fans.

_Falling is easy. Falling is a major part of skating, whether it’s controlled or not. You always fall after you fly, because you don’t have wings but a skateboard, and Kojiro thinks it might be even more exciting. Flying when you know you’re not going to fall has to get boring at some point. But Kojiro flies and his skate twirls beneath him and it’s a sensation he can’t enough of. For half a second as he’s at the top of the curve, time stops and he sees the world splayed beneath him, his world. The world of bright-colored hair, shining piercings, excessive make-up and torn, dirty clothes. It’s ugly, all concrete and broken people and bad street art, but to him it’s beautiful. His best friends’ gazes are proud as he flies and everyone is admiring the powerful arch he’s drawn in the rather foul air coming from the sewers. Then he falls and all the colors blur with speed but he lands with agility and suddenly he’s back in his world again. If he didn’t fall and land he wouldn’t be apart of this world and he can’t imagine that._

The hardest part is not watching Cherry fall, crumbling to the ground like a child’s rag doll, his mask torn, his eyes glazed over. It’s not seeing Adam hover over him, harsh and bitter words cutting further into his best friend’s heart than the sharp rocks he fell over.

_Falling is easy but standing back up is difficult. Some people land and fly again. Some people struggle to get back on their feet, then fly higher than they ever have or they never fly ever again. Some people never stand back up. Kaoru and Kojiro stand on the side and watch as Ainosuke falls and falls and falls and never lands, never stands back up. They don’t know what changed, and they don’t know how to help him, so they stand on the side and watch helplessly as their best friend loses himself little by little. They confront him, they talk to him, shout at him, pick up his unfortunate preys when they fall too hard, but he keeps falling. How he flies on his skateboard, more arrogant and beautiful than ever, how he dances and laughs and says he falls in love! To Kaoru and Kojiro it just feels like he’s slipping through their fingers like water. It breaks their heart a little every day how he could throw away their love so easily to stray on a dark, toxic path. He’s on the top of the mountain, he’s at rock bottom, it doesn’t matter, what does is that they only ever see his back turned on them anymore._

The hardest part is not even standing in front of the screen, watching Adam walk away and leave Cherry unconscious on the dirty racetrack ground.

_Once, a few months after Kaoru and Kojiro discover the wonderful yet so harsh world of skateboarding, Kaoru falls and doesn’t get back up. They’re young and inexperienced, training thanks to the hours they spent reading magazines and observing skilled skaters at the skatepark, dissecting meticulously each flip, each trick, each slide. They’re both covered in cuts, bruises and bandages, but haven’t been able to wipe off the smiles off of their faces ever since they started flying. They fall a lot, of course, but as they gain a little ease and experience, they begin to appreciate the value of it. Until Kaoru slips and slams his head on the last step of concrete stairs. Kojiro expects him to cry out in pain, then shake his head and stand up with a wince before laughing it off or smiling sheepishly if he really hurt himself. This time he doesn’t. He lies motionless on the floor and Kojiro panics. A few hours later find them at the hospital, Kaoru in a white bed, thick bandages around his forehead, frowning helplessly as Kojiro bawls his eyes out in fear and relief. As soon as Kaoru gets out of the hospital, they start skating again._

Maybe it’s a bit of all of it.

Joe doesn’t flinch like everyone does when Adam overtakes Cherry, gets off his skate and all but throws it at him. He half expected it the moment Cherry had avoided Adam’s Love Hug and taken the lead. He knows his former best friend just couldn’t let it happen, knows he’s never been good at giving up when he should, has always been terrible at losing. At least the teenage boy he’s known wasn’t capable of anything. The monster he’s become is.

He doesn’t flinch, doesn’t close his eyes, doesn’t cry out in shock, but inside he mourns. He can’t be disappointed because he doesn’t expect anything from Adam anymore, but… maybe the teenager in him still longs for the sweet thrill of a blooming, easy friendship he’d known when Cherry and he first met Adam. Maybe a part of him still hopes Adam feels the same under the cheerful mask and flamboyant costume, under the sick and twisted vision of love that makes him break bones and almost kill people.

He doesn’t.

Joe mourns as he makes his way towards Cherry, not quite racing as he knows people have already reached him. He hopes he doesn’t meet Adam. He’s not exactly a violent person by nature, he’s mostly known for his steady personality and easy-going attitude, but images of his best friend hitting the floor and staying there, not sitting up, keep appearing in his head, mixed with bittersweet memories and intense frustration, rage. It’s overwhelming in the worst way and his breath comes out uncharacteristically ragged, his heart beats uncharacteristically fast, his thoughts swirl in his head uncharacteristically chaotic. As much as he loathes Adam right now, he knows he doesn’t really want to hurt him.

Maybe.

Joe finds a small crowd surrounding Cherry and it parts before him. He jumps off his skate a few steps before the pink haired man and kneels right next to him. His chest rises and falls lightly and his hair is spread out beneath him. There’s blood running along his forehead. Joe wipes it off gently. Sighs.

He hates hospitals.

***

Kaoru hates waking at the hospital and he hates that he knows that.

He can even list reasons: it’s too white and too clean; it feels lonely yet it echoes with beeps and the patients’ complaints; it smells of chemicals and sorrow. Defeat. Also, the doctors aren’t usually too fond of Carla which makes the feeling of loneliness and helplessness even worse.

He opens his eyes with difficulty, his eyelids feeling heavy and the too-bright light stabbing his eyeballs. He groans as an acute pain pounds in his skull and tries to lift his right arm to cover his eyes from the light, but it doesn’t move. He tries moving his legs too and only the right one responds to his brain’s stimulus. He finds the other suspended above the bed, clasped in a white cast.

Kaoru is not one to swear, but man, fuck this. Fuck everything.

He sighs and closes his eyes as memories come back to him, blurry, painful. Adam, the race. The feeling of victory as he overtook him, as he dodged his Love Hug. Then fear, for barely one second, just enough time to know he won’t be able to dodge this one. Then pain.

Fuck. The pain. Not just physical. He knows physical pain.

Fuck hospitals. He can handle the pain, he just doesn’t want to be left alone with his thoughts and his memories.

Just as he starts spiraling, there’s a knock on the door and a nurse comes in without waiting for an answer.

“Oh, good morning, Sakurayashiki-san! It’s nice to see you awake! How do you feel?” She looks surprised to see him awake for a second, before a pleasant smile blooms on her face. It looks natural on her, Kaoru thinks it must be an important part of her job.

“I’m okay, thank you. Do you know when I will be able to go back home?” He asks.

“You’ve just woken up, sir, you will have to undergo a few examinations before we can let you out!” She answers in a sympathetic tone. “Honestly, I’m even surprised you woke up so early considering the bad concussion you got.”

“Guess I’m just used to it.” He mumbles, more to himself, but he sees as the nurse tries to hide her surprise at his words. It’s true he doesn’t really look as reckless as he used to, without his piercing and wearing more traditional clothes.

“Did- Did someone come to see me?” He asks tentatively, not that he has anyone particular in mind, not that he was disappointed to wake up alone in the hospital.

The nurse brightens up at his question. “Oh yes, your husband actually left about two hours ago! He said he had to go to work, that it was important.” She keeps on chattering and plays with the petals of pink flowers at his bedside, as though Kaoru’s world hasn’t suddenly come to a stop. “He brought those flowers to brighten the room, does it have to do with your name? I thought it was very sweet of him! He also brushed and cleaned your hair, said you wouldn’t bear to wake up with dirt and knots in your hair. (she sighs longingly) I wish my husband would do the same for me, you’re a lucky man, sir!”

“Waitwaitwait,” Kaoru finally manages to blurt, trying not to gape, “My husband? What husband?”

The nurse squints her eyes at him. “Your husband? Tall, very muscly, with green hair? Do you have trouble remembering things Sakurayashiki-san?”

Kaoru laughs sheepishly and smiles but inside he is already going through all the ways he knows to get rid of a body. That bastard…

“No, no, I’m okay, of course I remember my… husband.” He swallows a foul taste in his mouth as he imagines himself in the gorilla’s arms, at least he tries to convince himself it’s not just because he hasn’t brushed his teeth in too long. And if he feels warm all over, it’s just an effect of the concussion, nothing more. To think that meathead even touched his hair! That means war. (He absolutely does not wish he’d do so while he’s awake too.)

***

(He’s let out of the hospital two days later.

He goes to Kojiro’s restaurant but chickens out before confronting him about the “husband” thing. The familiar bickering, the warmth of his voice, the nice smell of the place, it lulls him to sleep. He wakes up the next day in his own bed. Alone.

A few hours later he’s at Kojiro’s door, pounding on it until the green haired man opens it with an annoyed look. Kaoru grabs him by the neck to lower his face and kisses him. Kojiro splutters, Kaoru only says that as his husband he should expect as much. His oldest friend lets him in with a bewildered but amazed look on his stupid face.

Only a few hours later, in the dead of night, as they’re tangled in each other and Kojiro cards his fingers through his hair, does sadness creep in their thoughts. They wonder, but never say out loud, how Ainosuke could ever throw away this kind of love.)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!  
> Don't hesitate to leave kudos and/or comments, it always warms my heart <3  
> Have a nice day/night! (It's 2am right now for me lol)


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